Chanukah Oh Chanukah: Edible Menorah

It was another successful Chanukah here in Thathouse.  We watched Chanukah movies, read Chanukah books, and sang Chanukah songs.

Every night we would light the menorah. The boys took turns with this part of the tradition.

We wore our Chanukah pajamas.

We made latkes.

And I tried out a Chanukah challah.

Even Thatdog got in on the action.

On the last night of Chanukah we headed to the Hotel Del Coronado for a "Chanukah on Ice."  

The Hotel Del calls their ice skating "Skating by the Sea" because it's right on the sand of the beach.  We make it a point to go every year, and going to celebrate Chanukah was the best way to experience it.  It was especially meaningful to me because I grew up without a lot of Jewish kids around, and my children are in a similar situation in their schools.  So to have them surrounded by other Jewish kids who celebrate the same things they do was something I wanted so badly when I was young, and something I wanted them to experience.

There was even a sand-menorah!

The Minions made a special guest appearance.

Once we got on the ice, Thatkid took off.  

On the other side of the spectrum was Thatbaby.  This was his very first time on ice!

I told Thatboy that Thatbaby has taken to ice the way Thatkid took to water - not very good, but very overconfident.  And he loved every minute.  He had already been asking to start ice skating lessons, so I promised him that after soccer was over, we would sign him up.

We did a quick run into the Hotel Del to see the Christmas tree and their menorah display.

The menorah is the key symbol of Chanukah and they come in all shapes and sizes.  Just scrolling through the pictures here you can find 5 very different menorahs! In our house, we also have wooden toy menorahs, and felt menorahs, and wooden placard menorahs.  We have a menorah surplus.  I thought I would add one more menorah to our collection, with a little help from my kids.  This menorah is fun for them to make AND eat!  

Edible Menorah

4 oz white chocolate

9 pretzel sticks

yellow sanding sugar

1 banana

1.  Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler.
2.  Roll the pretzel sticks in the white chocolate to coat completely.
3.  Dip one end of the coated pretzel stick in the sanding sugar and place in the banana.
4. When placing the pretzel sticks, press 8 of them down as far as you can into the banana, and just place the last stick in so that it remains taller than the others, to represent the shamash.  I placed mine in the middle, but placing it on either end works also!

Crave Wednesday: Blueberry Peach Cobbler

 The timing of Chanukah was perfect this year.  It didn't overlap with our trip to the in-laws for Christmas which meant we didn't have to transport presents,  could enjoy the evenings with our family, and spend time celebrating with family and friends!

We lit candles,  and this year both boys got to take turns helping.

We ate a ton of latkes. I ended up making batches for a Chanukah dinner with friends, and another batch for Thatkid to bring to school.

The date meant we got to meet up with  my mom and Thatbrother's family,  who spends Christmas with UDubb's family. We don't always get to vertebrate Chanukah with my family,  so it's always special when we do. 

And of course, there were lots of presents

Here we are, a month later, and there's less fried food, less presents,  less celebration. As often happens in January I go into super fruit mode.  All I want is fruit.  Mostly I go for oranges. But then... then I found ridiculously cheap blueberries.  Now,  I'm all for seasonal eating, especially with fruit,  but I can't pass up cheap blueberries.  Mixed with some frozen peaches and baked,  this warm dish is perfect for winter, reminiscent of summer, and reason for celebration year round.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler (from Cooking Light) 

5lbs peaches,  peeled,  pitted and sliced

Juice of 1 lemon 

1 cup sugar

3/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter,  softened 

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups blueberries

2 Tbsp turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Place peaches in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice. 
2. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar,  1/8 tsp salt,  and 2 Tbsp flour to peaches and toss to combine. Arrange in 13x9 dish coated with cooking spray. 
3. Combine remaining flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and baking powder in a bowl. 
4. Beat 1/4 cup sugar and butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. 
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. 
6.  Stir in vanilla. 
7. Alternating between dry and wet,  add in for mixture and buttermilk (start and end with the flour)
8. Stir in blueberries.  Spread the batter evenly over peach mixture. 
9. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Bake for 1 hour,  until topping is golden and filling is bubbly. 

Mommy Mondays: I've got some corn for popping

Well I covered holiday music and holiday reading,  all that's left is holiday movies!  And I'm pretty excited about these.  We started right after Thanksgiving and friends, we will not get through all of them before Christmas.

So,  this was my hardest top 10 to come up with.  How do you narrow it down to 10?

1. Rugrats Hanukah - There is a decided dearth of Hanukah movies, specials, and television shows.  Of the 5 that are out there  (not literally) this is the one we watch every year.  The rugrats do such a great job with Jewish holidays, really making them accessible for kids.

2. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas - I love the Rankin and Bass Christmas specials. They're so 70s, so corny, so perfectly Christmas.  This one about a little mouse who writes a nasty letter to Santa as almost ruins Christmas is one of my favorites

3. The Year without a Santa Clause - My favorite Rankin and Bass.  Who doesn't love the Miser Brothers? (Or as Thatkid calls them,  "The Misner Brothers)

4. A Christmas Story - We haven't shared this one with the kids yet, but it's such a classic holiday movie about being a kid at Christmas that it had to find a home on the list.

5. Elf - We introduced this one last year and it was an instant favorite for Thatkid. He manages to talk his brother into requesting it too, so we end up watching it once a week.

6. Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas - I can't help it,  I'm a child of the Muppet Generation.   (Is that a thing? It should be.) Jim Henson + Christmas = Happiness.

7. Muppet Christmas Carol - My favorite retelling of the Christmas Classic.  I also love Scrooged, but this is more family friendly.

8.  Home Alone - Thatkid loves this movie so much he watches it year round.

9. The Grinch who Stole Christmas - This one is currently Thatbaby's favorite.  He loves that Grinch.

10. It Happened on 5th Ave. - This one makes my list, not because my kid likes it, but because it's my favorite.  Classic farce, filled with good feelings,  helping your fellow man,  and of course,  billionaires pretending to be down and out homeless people.

O Tannenbaum: Egg Nog

Happy Chanukah everyone! We celebrated the first night last night and it was a success.  Candles,  dreidels, sufganiyot and presents.  But you'll notice there are very few community Chanukah activities.

So instead I'm commemorating the festival ood lights with a different kind of lighting - tree lighting! We've been to three separate tree lightings.  The first was way back in November.

Every year the Old Globe puts on a production of The Grinch every year.  And every year the casts lights the tree at the theater.  I've always wanted to go, but I further it's early and by the time I remember tickets are long gone.

This year I was on top of it, and early November found us gathered around a tree that was already beautiful, even before being lit.

 We stayed toward the back, so we could sit in the grass and munch our complimentary popcorn. When the show started,  we hosted the boys on our shoulders so they could see.

 The cast puts on a little show before the lighting which involves the Grinch proclaiming his hatred of Christmas, only to be won over by Cindy Lou Who and the other Whoville children. We were not in the best position for picture taking, so you'll have to settle for this snap I got of the green guy.

 And then the Grinch lifted Cindy Lou to the switch to turn on the lights.  And "snow" feel all around.  It was pretty magical.

Thatboy complained about how early in the season the tree lighting occurred,  grumbling that it might have well been July.

Personally, we wait for tree - related celebrating until after Thanksgiving. The weekend after we stuffed ourselves with turkey we headed to pick out our Christmas tree.

The boys quickly fell in love with various trees at the farm.

Finally we found one that Thatboy approved of and while they tied it to the roof of our car, the boys kept themselves buddy.

And then all that was left was decorating and lighting it!

With our tree up,  it officially feels like holiday time. We've traded in apple cider for hot cocoa and egg nog. Lots of egg nog. We quickly ran into a problem, finding that the containers of egg nog sold at our local stores are finished in a day.

The only solution is to make it yourself. Trust me,  it sounds more intimidating than it is. The recipe itself is easy, but it does need time to sit, so plan in advance.  Also,  this is the kind of eggnog you don't share with your kids!

Egg Nog (from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

12 Eggs yolks

12 Egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 quart heavy cream
1 quart milk
1 quart bourbon whisky
1 cup rum

1. Beat egg yolks with 1 cup of sugar and salt until very light.  
2. Beat egg whites until stiff
3. Beat in remaining 1/2 cup sugar.  
4. Combine yolks and whites and beat until thoroughly blended.  
5. Beat in cream
6. Beat in milk.  
7. Stir in whisky, beat well.
8. Add rum.  Pour into a gallon jug and refrigerate for one week.
9. Shake thoroughly before serving. 

Mommy Mondays: Holiday Reading

Both of my kids still do bedtime stories, and if we're being perfectly honest, I do too. Something about being curled up in bed and reading just seems like the perfect way to end the day.

And this time of year,  seasonal reading arms very appropriate.  I can't wait to get my hands on Hiddensee, Gregory Maguire's take on the nutcracker story.

Until then, here are some favorites we're sharing in our home!


For the little guys:
The Hanukah Bear -  I love this story of the best that wakes up from his hibernation and follows the scent of latkes. Because I would do the same thing.

The Night Before Christmas - It's a classic for a reason.  I mean, it gives us the iconic image of Santa.

Just Enough Is Plenty - A family in a Polish shtetle find a way to make their latkes stretch to feed the mysterious stranger who shows up on their doorstep the first night of Chanukah.

The Polar Express - On the cusp of believing? Take a ride on the Polar Express to the North Pole!

Clifford Celebrates Hanukkah - a good introduction to the Hanukkah celebration. Plus Clifford saves the day,  as usual.

For the slightly older:
The Latke Who Wouldn't Stop Screamed - I can't help it.  I love Lemony Snicket.

A Christmas Carol - the original Christmas ghost story. I still remember reading it in school!

A Little Princess- Technically not a Christmas story,  but since the Christmas scene is so magical, I think it counts.


For the kids at heart:
The Gift of the Magi - This introduced and sparked my love for O. Henry.  It's a classic Christmas story, so sweet, and bittersweet.

Matchless - I love the story of The Little Match Girl. Even though it makes me cry.  Gregory Maguire is wonderful at yakking classic stories and retelling them.  This is no different.  And the retelling still makes me cry.

Crave Wednesday: French Toast Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

We covered Christmas, so let's back up again to Channukah.  Because we're that kind of family.  I actually loved that the first night of Channukah and Christmas coincided this year.  I felt like it was a real embodiment of our family, the merging of two religions in a single day.

Thatkid took a real lead this year, lighting the candles every night.

As for Thatbaby, last year he was just a teeny thing, this year he can actually participate.  He doesn't know the words to the blessing, so he sang Happy Birthday instead. 

And just to keep things even, the boys ended up with Chanukkah pajamas this year too!  Thatkid has now decided he wants pajamas for every holiday.

We also got to celebrate at a Channukah party with our friends, filled with amazing food and a million menorahs.

The only problem with Chanukkah this year is that we weren't home to make the traditional foods.  Thatkid and I didn't make our latkes, and there were no sufganiyot.  This is the next best thing.  Sufganiyot are fried jelly filled doughnuts, and this is a fried jelly filled sandwich. My favorite way to eat latkes is sprinkled with powdered sugar, and this sandwich is sprinkled in powdered sugar.  It's almost as though it hits everything I missed from Chanukkah foods! It's not an everyday meal, but perfect for special occasions, like birthdays or holidays where things are fried in oil!

French Toast Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (From Cooking Light)

2/3 cup 2% milk

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

8 slices white whole wheat bread

1/2 cup strawberry preserves

6 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1. Whisk together milk, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and egg in a medium shallow dish.
2. Place bread slices on a flat surface.
3. Spread 2 Tbsps preserves over each of 4 bread slices.
4. Spread 1 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter over each of the remaining 4 bread slices and assemble sandwiches. 
5. Dip 2 sandwiches in milk mixture, turning to coat.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2tsp canola oil to pan, swirling to coat.
6. Place sandwiches in pan and cook 2 minutes on each side or until toasted.  Remove sandwiches from pan.
7. Repeat with remaining 2 sandwiches, milk, and oil
8. Sprinkle powdered sugar over sandwiches, cut each sandwich in half diagonally.